extension

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[rottunpunk]

on friday we were doing a throw from a double wrsit grab attack from behind.
the idea was to use kokyu to extend the arms in order to fling tekki forward.
but i got told that i wasnt extending.
i still maintain i was.
but my teacher is tall and so is my partner.
i found that stepping forward into the attack worked better than stepping back like what the teacher showed us-thus adapting and changing what he showed
so how does one extend when ones partner has longer arms than...one?

any advice would be grand
:p

[ian]

The arms are just little sticks that connect to your centre, so arm length is irrelevant. However, I believe what you say is correct.

Think of a simpler front grab:
The hand is a way of connecting with their centre, through their arm. By pulling or pushing your arm it is difficult to move their centre, however by drawing your centre back (with the arm in the same position) you can move their centre. Ideally there is the yin/yang cross-over generated from movement i.e. someone reaches to grab, you 'lead' them slightly, generating additional body movement from them; as the connection is gradually made you increase the use of your centre to unbalance them further; once unbalanced you project them whereever you like (indeed disconnection (often gradual) must then result unless you both carrying on moving!).

From the rear grab: connect with their centre; raise your arms to raise their centre (as yours is forced more towards the ground) and move your centre forward, slightly off centre-line, and then down (and possibly back a little at the end).

If you just cut your arms down, the cutting motion brings your arms forward (rather than your centre). This is not a problem if your arms are still under the control of your centre and uke remains extended. However if you have short arms you have to adjust your body to increase this extension.

The moving off line is important for two reasons i. it allows uke to be thrown forwards without clashing with your body ii. by keeping your hands in front of you it twists uke's body at an oblique angle so they cannot run forward or step sideways, but instead their hips are moving forward whilst their upper half is moving slightly to the side (causing the throw).

If you watch footage of Ueshiba, he can be seen to be doing it in a way consistant with this.

- in short; forget about your arms; that just makes it complicated. Just think of the connection between your centres.

[Sonja2012]

in short; forget about your arms; that just makes it complicated. Just think of the connection between your centres.

Excellent advice. I´l be taking that into practice tonight. :)

[rottunpunk]

thanks for the great advice.

Forgive my ignoramus nature, but how does one connect with the centre?
i understand the physics of using hara, is this what you mean?
:p